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From Peter Andre on Strictly to Emma Watson on gender inequality... 12 celebrities who have risen to the occasion

Sponsored by Iceland

Peter Andre has wowed the judges and public on this year's Strictly
Another big name to rise to the occasion was Emma Watson at the UN
Other impressive celebrities include Tom Daley and Angelina Jolie

By Katy Winter for MailOnline

Published: 18:59 EST, 15 November 2015 | Updated: 19:01 EST, 15 November 2015

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When Emma Watson stepped on stage at the UN in September last year, few expected much to come of it.

But the speech the Oxford graduate made proved inspirational – and the HeForShe campaign aimed at eradicating gender inequality that arose from it just as impressive.

Watson, however, is far from being the only A-lister to impress outside of her usual milieu.

From Peter Andre's achievements on Strictly to Tom Daly's brave coming out video on YouTube, MailOnline reveals the 15 celebrities who truly rose to the occasion.

PETER ANDRE

He's no stranger to reality show success having put in a third-placed performance in the 2002 edition of I'm A Celebrity but Peter Andre's impressive run on this year's Strictly Come Dancing has won him a tranche of new fans.

Although no stranger to dancing thanks to his 90s pop career, the 42-year-old face of Iceland has impressed viewers with his capacity for hard work and talent for the tango.

Peter Andre's impressive run on this year's Strictly Come Dancing has won him a tranche of new fans

Indeed, so impressive was one recent performance, he and partner Jeanette Manrara found themselves awarded top marks of 10.

'First out, first class, absolute showstopper' Len Goodman told the Mysterious Girl singer when it came to his positive feedback.

The veteran judge then went on to describe the performance, a Charleston, as 'the best dance [on Strictly 2015] so far'.

Peter (here launching the Love Libraries scheme with London Mayor Boris Johnson) has totally transformed himself since his 90s pop career and is one of the nation's most loved fathers and public figures

They may be known for their on screen skills or sporting prowess, but many celebrities like Emma Watson really know how to rise to the occasion

EMMA WATSON

No stranger to women's issues, outspoken Miss Watson, 25, has helped galvanise a generation of feminists with her passionate work on gender inequality.

Along with her UN speech, during which she called on men to embrace the cause and join women in dispensing with the lop-sided global labour market, she has repeatedly used social media and interviews to ram home her point.

Even more impressive was her speech made to the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, during which she reiterated her point and built upon the same themes.

Now a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, her most recent coup came when the equally inspiring teen and campaigner for female education Malala Youzefai credited the actress with inspiring her to call herself a feminist.

Miss Watson became a household name around the world after appearing as schoolgirl witch Hermione Granger in the eight Harry Potter movies.

Emma Watson rose to the occasion with her impassioned speech on gender equality at the United Nations

TOM DALEY

He had already impressed the world with his diving heroics at the London 2012 Olympics – and the bronze medal that he left with – but late in 2013, Mr Daley rose to the occasion in a different way.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, he took the brave step of publicly announcing that he is gay, saying that he fell in love with someone and that someone happened to be male.

He added: 'I'd never felt the feeling of love, it happened so quickly, I was completely overwhelmed by it to the point I can't get him out of my head all the time.'

British diving star Tom Daley rose the occasion when he proudly came out as homosexual, pictured here with his now fiancee Dustin Lance Black

Two years on and he and partner Dustin Lance Black are still together and more besotted than ever, with the two announcing their engagement last month.

Despite the plaudits he received for publicly revealing his sexuality, Mr Daley has gone on to say that it shouldn't have been news at all.

'I don't think it should be news,' he told Attitude magazine. 'I don't think it matters who you choose to be in a relationship with.

'But I also understand that it is still news. I think we live in a society that is far more accepting than it was five or ten years ago, but we've still got a way to go before people no longer assume you're in a heterosexual relationship.'

Murray certainly rose to the occasion when, in 2013, he became the first British Men's Singles winner since 1936

ANDY MURRAY

When Andy Murray arrived at Wimbledon in June 2013, Britain hadn't had a winner since 1977 when Virginia Wade took home the Women's Singles title.

But all that changed when Murray, buoyed by an Olympic gold at the same venue the previous year, powered through qualification and the knock out rounds to reach the final.

In front of a glamorous crowd that included the Beckhams, he overcame early nerves to dispatch Serbia's Novak Djokovic and, in the process, became the first British Men's Singles winner since Fred Perry in 1936.

An instant national hero, Murray, who has not won the tournament since, was duly named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year that December.

PRINCE HARRY

He is not, strictly speaking, a celebrity but Prince Harry certainly knows a thing or two about rising to a challenge – not least in his ongoing campaign to support wounded soldiers.

A former soldier himself, the 31-year-old prince spent a year quietly working behind the scenes to get the Invictus Games off the ground.

He used to be known as the 'party prince' but Harry rose to the occasion for the Invictus Games to support wounded soldiers - even taking part in a game of wheelchair rugby

During the inaugural Games, in London last September, he attended every single event and took part in a game of wheelchair rugby himself.

Liam Hemsworth is a proud vegan, citing the mistreatment of animals as his motivation

Now working on the second edition, which takes place in Orlando, Florida next May, Harry recently visited the US where he visited a military base with Michelle Obama for the official launch.

LIAM HEMSWORTH

He's currently making hearts flutter as he reprises the role of Gale Hawthorne in the fourth and final installment of The Hunger Games but Liam Hemsworth, 25, is more than just a pretty face.

In an interview with Men's Health in October, he made waves when he revealed that he is vegan – and had been so for the last five months.

The revelations, which were welcomed by PETA and other animal rights groups, included the admission that he slips up from time to time with cheese pizza but is battling to stay clear of dairy anyway.

He added: 'After all the information I gathered about the mistreatment of animals, I couldn't continue to eat meat. The more I was aware of, the harder and harder it was to do.'

ANGELINA JOLIE

Now known as much for her humanitarian work as for her acting skills, Angelina Jolie has evolved from film heroine to the real thing via her tireless work for charity.

A UN special envoy and human rights campaigner, Miss Jolie, 40, has become a familiar face on the charity circuit and has visited trouble spots all over the world, including the Syrian refugee camps on the border with Turkey.

Angelina Jolie (here pictured listening to an earthquake survivor during her visit to Jabel, a remote village in Pakistani Kashmir in 2005) has evolved from film heroine to the real thing via her tireless work for charity

More recently, she joined then Foreign Secretary William Hague in London to launch a Preventing Sexual Violence initiative aimed at combatting the epidemic of rape used as a weapon of war.

And her efforts haven't gone unrecognised. Honoured with a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in November 2013, a year later, she was named an honorary dame – with the award presented to her at Buckingham Palace by the Queen last October.

Leonardo has raised over $40 million for environmental causes through his charity

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Leonardo DiCaprio might be better known for his film career and the ever-changing cast of leading ladies in his personal life but he's also a passionate environmentalist.

So dedicated to the cause is the 40-year-old, he recently won an award for his efforts – an award presented to him in Monaco by no less a person than the principality's ruler, Prince Albert II.

The reason for the award was the $40m raised by the actor for environmental causes through his charity, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

On top of that, he is also an ambassador for the WWF and sits on the board of a number of eco organisations, including Global Green USA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

GEORGE CLOONEY

Never one to hold back when it comes to his views on politics and global events, George Clooney has long been an outspoken champion of human rights around the world.

But despite having supported huge humanitarian campaigns such as Save Darfur, his most impressive achievement came in 2010 when he organised the Hope For Haiti Now telethon following a devastating earthquake.

Helped along by fellow celebrities, among them Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, Mr Clooney's efforts resulted in a $61m windfall for the humanitarian relief operation.

Clooney rose to the occasion after a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. He is pictured with John Krasinski, Mark Wahlberg, Ellen Barkin and Jack Nicholson at the 'Hope for Haiti Now' telethonin, which raised an amazing $61 million

Since then, Mr Clooney has continued to campaign on human rights issues and turned the public into personal when he married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in summer 2014.

KATE WINSLET

The A-lister whose self-declared mission is to make other women feel good about themselves, one of Kate Winslet's most impressive moments came in 2003.

Kate Winslet has taken a stand against the excessive retouching used in magazines and in the industry

Interviewed by GQ, the subsequent photos were heavily re-touched to make the now 40-year-old's legs appear slimmer – much to her fury.

'I just didn't want people to think I was a hypocrite and that I'd suddenly lost 30 pounds or whatever,' she told the New York Post at the time.

'So I just came out and said 'Look, I don't look like that.' I'm not mad at the magazine, but I have no intention of looking like that.'

As well as delighting generations of children with Harry Potter, JK Rowling is vocal on politics

She has now allegedly put a stipulation in her new contract with L'Oreal which has become known as a a 'no retouching' clause, forbidding them from photo shopping pictures of her too much.

Speaking to E!Online about the clause she said: 'It's a hope that other people might follow suit but it does feel important to me because I do think we have a responsibility to the younger generation of women.'

JK ROWLING

She is the single mother who clawed her way to financial success with a little help from her vivid imagination and a certain boy wizard.

But that wasn't enough for JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, who then went on to do it all over again under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith.

The 50-year-old, who remarried in 2001 and has two sons as well as her daughter from her first marriage, has also become known for publicly speaking her mind and threw her weight behind the Better Together campaign during last year's Scottish referendum.

Despite the best efforts of Twitter trolls, she continues to share her political thoughts on social media – as well as delight Harry Potter fans.

RICHARD GERE

He might be one of Hollywood's more elusive denizens but there is one subject about which Richard Gere is always happy to talk – human rights.

Inspired by a visit to Nicaragua in the 1980s, the experience of seeing war first hand turned the veteran actor into a peace loving Buddhist and a campaigner.